A sustainable energy promise

Power-cuts have a major impact on our daily schedule. Now think of the people residing in the rural areas, having very little access or no access to electricity. All of us need electricity. But using unsustainable energy sources like coal, fossil fuel, oil, is not going to solve this problem.

Forty per cent of the households don't have access to electricity in rural India. Greenpeace believes that decentralised renewable energy (DRE) can provide energy access to all. It has been campaigning for DRE in Bihar, where majority of the rural population is facing acute 'energy-poverty'.

Since 2010 Greenpeace has been challenging the centralised conventional way of power generation and distribution, which has been a big failure and has resulted in uneven electricity distribution. Bihar is a live example of supply-demand gap in terms of electricity distribution and scarcity.

Greenpeace believes that a huge investment opportunity exists in Bihar, and thus, is proposing the 'Bihar model' presenting an innovative approach to energy access. It shows how renewable energy is the answer to energy poverty in the state, and has the potential of making the state self sufficient in energy in the long run. It has already established a political momentum in the state and now investors are looking to ride on this momentum.

On May 15th Greenpeace is organising an international business conference in Patna which intends to increase investment on DRE with a view to eradicate energy poverty. The success of this conference will not only pave the way for a different kind of energy revolution in the state, but also challenge the existing energy pathway at the national level.

Rural India has had enough electricity scarcity, now DRE as a tool can deliver energy to all.